The Seafoam Challenge
by Lizard King 13
Summary: Tory, a Pokemon trainer, entered a contest and won a trip to the Seafoam Islands. But his ideal vacation turns into a disaster.
1. The Prize

Tory looked at the battle schedule posted on the bulletin board. He was next in line for battle. After this one, he would be in the final four. But he was getting ahead of himself. He didn't know if he was going to win. But still, that kind of optimism is what is needed to help win. Tory heard the cheering from the stands of the arena. From the sound of it, the current battle is about to end. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Tory looked on his belt. Three Pokeballs were connected to it. Each one held the Pokemon he was going to use in the next battle. He tried to pick them randomly so no one could strategize against him. That was how his twin sister, Terri, got out. She kept using the same Pokemon in the same starting order. Finally, someone had enough sense to use a Pikachu against her Poliwhirl and Swampert.

He looked at the poster that reminded him of why he was in the contest: a free trip to the Seafoam Islands. Because it didn't specify that the winner of the contest got to go to the Seafoam Islands, there was a rumor going around that the finalists got to go, and no one would know who the overall winner was. But Tory knew that that was unlikely. The cheering intensified and Troy knew that the battle was over, and that he was about to go onto the field in ten minutes. He took another deep breath.

Tory looked onto the bulletin board and saw who he was about to verse. He took another deep breath, as he knew this wouldn't be an easy battle. He heard the announcer call his name and his opponents. Tory took another deep breath. All these deep breaths were making him light headed. He walked through the hall and turned the corner into arena's main ground. There were blinding lights and screaming, obsessed fans who screamed louder as Tory walked onto the arena. He couldn't help but smile and wave.

Tory took his place, and across from him, his opponent did too. The referee was standing on the side of the painted Pokeball shape on the ground. "Ok, you have been in this competition long enough to know the rules," said the referee. "I shouldn't have to remind you of them. On three. One, two, THREE!"

Tory snapped his hand onto his belt, and picked a Pokeball at random. He flung it out onto the field and it opened up to reveal his Exeggutor. Across the field, his opponent released a Beedrill. "Ok, Exeggutor, try your best to knock this nuisance out of the sky! Use egg bomb." Exeggutor lowered its heads and unleashed two finely polished eggs.

"Dodge it and use agility," shouted Tory's opponent in a gravely voice. He was a middle aged man determined to be a kid half his age. The Beedrill sped away from the on coming eggs. The eggs exploded behind Tory's opponent, tossing mountains of dirt into the air. Exeggutor tried to relocate the Beedrill.

"It's behind you," screamed Tory.

"Twineedle," commanded the adversary. Exeggutor turned around just as Beedrill delivered its attacks. Exeggutor had to stumble backwards a bit. "Now use swift." Beedrill shot yellow white stars at Exeggutor. Exeggutor tried to brace himself, but it didn't work.

Tory could tell he had to do something quick. "Don't let him beat you around. Use Psychic." Exeggutor regained his focus and held Beedrill in a Psychic grip. Suddenly, Beedrill plunged to the ground. "That's it! Now squash him like the bug he is!" Exeggutor held Beedrill in the Psychic grip and walked over to it. Exeggutor stomped onto the bug.

"Geh!" screamed Tory's opponent. "Use poison sting." Beedrill lifted its abdomen and stung Exeggutor in the bottom of the foot. Exeggutor stumbled backwards, feeling dizzy from the poison. Finish it off with Twineedle." Beedrill got up and started flying again. It sped over towards Exeggutor and delivered the final blow. Exeggutor fell to the ground. The fans cheered.

Tory was awestruck. He reached for the Pokeball and returned Exeggutor. He grabbed another one. His fans might think him as crazy for doing this, but he had a plan. The Beedrill must be shot out of the air. "Ok, Araidos." Tory released the Pokeball and an Araidos came out. It flashed its fangs at the enemy. "Shoot it out of the sky with Spider Web!" Araidos stretched its abdomen and shot a sticky spider web at Beedrill. It hit only half hit the insect. The wings of the Beedrill became more panicked and it hovered just above the ground. "Now finish it off with bite!" Araidos crawled slowly towards the Beedrill. Tory's Araidos liked to be dramatic, but Tory didn't know why. Araidos flexed its fangs and bit Beedrill. Beedrill squirmed and lay still. Fans screamed for Tory, which brought another smile onto his face.

"You will pay for that," said Tory's rival. "Electabuzz, go!" A red beam flashed from the Pokeball and out came an Electabuzz. "Squash it like a bug," mimicked Tory's rival. Electabuzz's fist became surrounded with electricity.

"Araidos, use Sludge Bomb." Araidos spat a ball of sludge at Electabuzz. It was a direct hit in the face. "Now, use bite." As Electabuzz was wiping the sludge away from the face, Araidos jumped up onto it bit it. Electabuzz ran around the arena with Araidos on its back. "Wrap it up in a spider web," commanded Tory. Electabuzz tripped giving Araidos an easier chance at rolling the Electabuzz into a cocoon. A smile crept onto Tory's face when he saw the look on his opponents face.

The Electabuzz was returned to its Pokeball and the last Pokemon was sent out. It was a Torkoal. "Use Fire Spin!" he growled. The Torkoal created a column of fire around Araidos and the column closed it, revealing a knocked out Araidos.

Tory gasped and the arena erupted in a cheer. Tory reached for his last Pokeball. He kissed it before letting it go. The red beam flashed revealing a Noctowl. "Ok, Noctowl, use Peck."

"Torkoal, use Ember."

"Noctowl, dodge and use Hypnosis." Noctowl barely dodged the attack. Only its feathers were lightly singed. Once Noctowl was clear for the attack, it used Hypnosis, and made Torkoal drowsy. "Now use Dream Eater." Torkoal started twitching in its sleep as its dreams were eaten.

Tory's opponent stomped his foot in anger. "That's it. I give up." Tory looked at him in surprise. The referee blew his whistle and the crowd erupted in applause and cheering. Tory returned Noctowl to its Pokeball and his opponent did likewise to the Torkoal. Tory shook hands and his rival said, "You battled well."

"Thanks, so did you," said Tory. He was overjoyed. All he could think about was that he was one step closer to the prize.

An hour later, the final four contestants were rounded up in a room. Tory looked around and saw a stuck up white-blonde lady, wearing a fur coat. To the left of her was the whitest person he had ever seen. Apparently she didn't get out to see the sun too much. And to the left of her was an older man with thick glasses. He looked somewhat like a scientist. Tory stood by the man. No one spoke; they all waited for someone to give them all directions. Finally, a man came in the room and stood in front of them.

"Congratulations," he said. "You've made it this far, and now you have a little farther to go." He handed each of them one ticket. "These are tickets for a ship that is destined for the Seafoam Islands. That is where your final test will be." _Those rumors were true,_ Tory thought. _But why? What is the prize for the winner of that?_ He had a lot of questions, but he didn't want to look foolish in front of people older than him. "The tickets will have all the information you need. The ship leaves next week so it leaves plenty of time to pack and stuff. Good luck to all of you."

The man left the room. The four finalists looked at each other. They didn't say a word. Tory just stared at his ticket with a bunch of questions about why this was happening swirling around inside of his mind. He pushed those aside and celebrated secretly to himself.

**_Please reveiw and tell me what you think. I can handle most criticism._**


	2. At Home

Tory closed the door behind him as he entered his house. He was still smiling about his ticket. "Why are you so happy?" spat his twin sister, Terri. She was sitting in a fan back chair in the corner of the living room. Tory reached inside his pants pocket and pulled out the ticket. The edges were gilded; something that Tory somehow did not see when he first received the ticket. Terri jumped out of the chair and ran up to him. "How did you get this?"

"The final four contestants won it," he said happily. "The final battle will happen on the Seafoam Islands!"

"This is so unfair!" she shouted. "Why do you always get to win things and stuff." Terri was still trying to get over her loss. She stomped back to her chair and sat down with her arms crossed.

"Don't get mad at me. I wasn't the one who kept using the same Pokemon over and over." He shoved the ticket back in his pocket. "I tried to warn you." He walked out of the room and into his bedroom. Tory's Pineco was hanging from his ceiling. Some people would mistake his house for a Pokemon rancher's because of the way his family let their Pokemon roam about. "Hey, bud. Guess what I got." Before Pineco could answer, Tory whipped out his ticket. The golden edges gleamed in the sun light. Pineco started to rock back and forth, speaking in words Tory couldn't understand. But if he had to guess, they all summarized up as "Congratulations, I can't believe we are going to the Seafoam Islands."

He sat on his bed and read the ticket aloud, so Pineco could hear, "Congratulations Tory Spaniff. You have won an all expense paid journey to the Seafoam Islands. There, you will come across your last challenge. The challenge will remain a secret until you are on the cruise liner.

"The cruise service you will be traveling on is Pokemon Cruises. Their liners are large enough to fit most Pokemon and provide more luxuries in on place than you will see your entire life." He stopped at that sentence. "Kind of rude, eh?" Pineco grumbled an agreed.

"Your room assignment will also be given to you once you are on the ship," he continued. "This ticket only allows for one passenger, and six of your Pokemon. If you feel like it, you can bring extra Pokeballs to catch the Pokemon you will probably never get to see again." He stopped again, getting frustrated at the boldness of the ticket. "Do they think we are peasants?" Pineco laughed and Tory continued, "You are also allowed to bring a reasonable amount of luggage. We expect you to automatically know how much is reasonable. The ship will leave Friday at 11:30 A.M. at Fuchsia City Port. "

Tory looked up. It had been a tiring day. He placed the ticket on his nightstand "Hey, I am going to bed," he told Pineco. Even though it was 7 P.M. he couldn't keep his eyes open. Tory kicked off his shoes and rested.

Tory's senses came to full alert. He was awakened by violent swinging. It took the sound of his mother's voice for him to realize he was in one of her signature hugs where she swings you from side to side and your feet are fully off the ground. "Oh, I am so happy for you! I can't believe you won. Your father is going to be so proud of you."

"Mo…om pleeeease… sto…op swing...ing meeee," Tory pleaded. His mother dropped him and he fell on his bed, trying to regain his sense of balance. His mother kept going on about how much she can't wait to leave for the Seafoam Islands. "Mom, the ticket says only I can go. And I haven't won anything yet, the last battle will take place there."

Tory's mother stopped. "What?" she said, sounding hurt.

"Look," he said, handing her the ticket. She examined it carefully. When she was done, she slid it back onto his nightstand.

"I see." Her voice was less enthusiastic than before. "But still, your father will still be happy to her this." She walked out of his room.

Tory looked at his clock. It read midnight. He sighed and lay back down. He realized his Pineco was still on the ceiling and was awaken by his mother. "Sorry about that, Pineco." Pineco gave a sleepy response and they both went back to sleep.


	3. Departing

Dsclaimer: I do not own Pokemon... or Monopoly.

* * *

Tory and his mom drove down the streets of Fuchsia City towards the port. Terri was still furious about Tory winning and didn't come along, and Tory's dad was at work. They pulled into a parking space. Tory unloaded his luggage and gave his mom a kiss on the cheek. "Oh, I am so happy for you," she said.

"Me too. Good bye, I love you," waved Tory. As he walked towards the cruise liner, he could see a tear rolling down her cheek. He was about to cry too, but he didn't want to so he grabbed a Pokeball and threw it on the ground. His Araidos came out and crawled onto his back. He needed to take his mind off of leaving his mom.

He looked forward and saw the ship. It was humongous with three magnificent white smoke stacks, and large, regal windows. He couldn't believe his eyes. The ship was so big for just the four of them going. But then he realized that it was also for the Pokemon. In front of the ship was a large crowd, buzzing with excitement.

"Hey, look! There is the other finalist," shouted somebody. Half of the crowd rushed over towards Tory. The reporters flashed their cameras and waved their microphones in his face, shouting questions to him. None of which he would answer. His Araidos was startled with all the excitement, and was clawing nervously into Tory's back. "Ah, will you stop it, Araidos? I think my back is starting to bleed."

Tory felt a warm soothing sensation on his back. He turned around and saw another of the finalists. It was the stark white girl. Her hair was blowing in the cool ocean breeze. Next to her, was an Alakazam. "What was that?" he asked, trying his best to make the question sound polite.

"You said your back was bleeding. I told my Alakazam to heel it for you," she said. Her voice was almost as zombie-ish as her appearance. "My name is Melanie." She held out a hand to shake. He reached for it, but her hand was bumped out of the way and replaced with another woman's.

Tory looked up and saw that it was the rich, woman that also made it to the finals. She was wearing a white fur coat and her white blonde hair was put up in a loose bun. She laughed as she shook his hand. "Don't waste your time with such freaks. I am Gertrude Monopoly. And that is my husband over there," she pointed. "He is Mr. Jeeves Monopoly."

"Nice to meet you," Tory said. Gertrude's husband came over. "Nice to meet you to, Mr. Monopoly." He wouldn't shake Tory's hand. And then, a long sleek car pulled up to the pier. The door opened and the final finalist came out. His scientist like appearance was made even more relevant by the white lab coat he had on. Within seconds he was surrounded by the crowd.

After a few minutes, the sound of a man clearing his throat was magnified over the mega phone. The crowd silenced and waited intently on what was coming next. "Hello to everyone here today. As you know, in a few minutes our finalists will be boarding the ship to the Seafoam Islands!" The crowd cheered. When it became quiet the man spoke, "But first, because this ship is brand spankin' new, we need to have a short ceremony." He took a campaign bottle by the top. "This is the seventh and, by far, largest ship in the Pokemon Cruises fleet. It will be known as the S.S. Floaty Boat!" A few people laughed. "Ah, you laugh now, but wait until you get inside this beauty. It's huge, it's gigantic, it's titanic! And it's going to the Seafoam Islands!" He raised the bottle above his head and slammed it onto the hull. The bottle shattered and the campaign sprayed against the side of the boat. The crowd cheered wildly.

The boarding ramp lowered. "Will the final four contestants please board the S.S. Floaty Boat at this time," said the man. The crowd made an isle for the Tory and the three others. Gertrude pushed her way in front of the other three. Melanie stayed behind the rest, and the scientist went in front of Tory. They all went up to the boat.

Araidos was gently clawing at Tory's back. "Stop it will you?" he whispered. Araidos stopped. Tory came to the ramp. He had some trouble lifting his luggage up the ramp. But he quickly found that it seemed to float up it. He turned around and saw that Melanie was making her Alakazam do it. "You don't have to do that," he said. Tory's luggage dropped and he fell head over heels down the ramp. The crowd laughed at him. Melanie was half way up the ramp looking down at him. Tory stood up and, once again, his luggage floated up the ramp.

Once everybody was on board the ship, the fog horn boomed. The crowd cheered louder. Confetti floated from the windows of the ship down towards the crowd. The ramp was disconnected and the sound of the engines could barely be heard over the din. The ship lurched forward and the crowd cheered even louder. The fog horn sounded again. All four finalists waved to the crowd as they departed.


	4. Melanie's Prediction

The waves crashed on the sides of the cruise liner. Fuchsia City was but a thin line across the horizon. Tory and the others were not allowed inside the ship until their rooms were given to them. So they sat on beach chairs on the upper deck. Finally, after thirty minutes of waiting for him, the man came out to assign their rooms. "Hello, finalists. I will give you your room assignments and then you will be able to go anywhere on the ship. The journey is expected to last about a week. Which may or may not be enough time to explore the ship. Now for your rooms: Gertrude, you have the Affluent Suite." Gertrude raised her chin and smiled, with a satisfied 'humph.' "Henry, you have the Erudition Suite." The scientist's emotion didn't change. "Melanie, you have the Transmundane Suite." Like Henry, Melanie's emotion didn't show on her face, it never does. "And Tory, you have the Imperial Suite." He gave a card key to each of the finalists.

The man started to walk back into the ship when Henry asked, "What is our assignment? The ticket said we would find out when the ship took off."

The man stopped and turned around. "That will be given to you when we make land fall. Also, if you get lost, maps are displayed through out the halls." He smiled and went back into the ship.

Tory got up, eager to see his suite. But like when it was time to go on board the ship, Gertrude was the first to go inside. Once Tory was inside, he walked through the halls with wonder. They were dark blue with gold lamps sticking out of the wall. The hall was fairly large. The elegant pattern carpet stretched from one end of the hall to the other. He walked down a few flights of stairs. Eventually his Araidos started to walk on the side of him. He thought he was alone in the hall, but Henry came up from behind him. "Hey, I didn't get a chance to meet you." Tory jumped.

"Oh, you startled me. I am Tory." He held out a hand to shake.

"I am sorry, I am Professor Henry Cobalt." He took the hand and shook it. "I am not trying to follow you; it's just that my suite is this direction to."

"Oh, that's okay." Tory continued to walk and Henry followed.

"Oh, what do you know? This is my suite. It's nice meeting you and good luck when we arrive at the Seafoam Islands." Henry ran ahead to his door, his lab coat flailing behind.

"Same with you," said Tory. He continued to walk down the hall. Certain he was all alone. Finally, he came to a door marked "Imperial Suite." He slid the card key in the door. It beeped and opened slowly. The sight of his room took his breath away. It was at least three stories high. The walls were painted a deep, dark red, with silver furnishings. On the wall opposite of the door were windows that went from the floor to the ceiling. To the left was a wall lined with white marble pillars. Across from that wall was the bed, it was large and covered with a red and silver bedspread. On the left and right side of the bed were two black nightstands.

"Oh my goodness," he said, with his mouth hanging open slightly. "The ticket was right; never will I see a place filled with so many luxuries at once." He walked in and closed the door behind him. He tossed the rest of his Pokeballs on the ground. One by one, they came out: Exeggutor, Noctowl, Pineco, Magcargo, and Surskit. At first confusion had hit them, but it was slowly catching on. Noctowl was the first to make himself at home. He flew up and sat on a silver perch near the top of the wall. He let out a joyful hoot and the others soon made themselves at home too.

"Surskit, looks like you need some water to play in," said Tory. As he listened to Surskit's reply, he found a book on the nightstand. It said "Bedroom Manual." "A manual for a bedroom?" He opened it and read it, occasionally looking up and around the room. He put it down and walked to the other side of the bed, near the window. He looked at the wall closer. Surskit was getting angry because Tory was ignoring it. "Hold on, Surskit," said Tory, waving a hand at it. Tory pushed a small button on the wall and part of the wall came out into the bedroom. It was a pool of water, the size of a hot tub with different temperature settings. "This ship _does_ have everything."

For the rest of the evening, Tory sat on the bed and stared out at the window. Dinner was served for him and his Pokemon. It was the best dinner he had ever had. Everything was cooked just perfectly, and then came desert, which was equally satisfying. After dinner he decided to explore the ship. He also decided to bring his Noctowl along.

He left the room with his Noctowl sitting on his shoulder. He wandered aimlessly around the corridors. Tory was deep below the ship's upper most deck. The sound of the boiler room could be heard under him. Yet, the ship still maintained the fine regal atmosphere. He was checking the name plates on the doors, when his Noctowl screeched.

"Ow, hey, buddy. Not so loud," Tory rubbed his ear. But his Noctowl was staring down the hall. Troy looked to and his heart skipped a beat. On the other side of the hall was a Persian, crouched low to the ground, eyeing Noctowl up and down. Tory started to back away slowly. But Persian jumped into the air landed in front of Tory and Noctowl. Noctowl screeched, and then Persian growled. Troy's heart was racing. But then Gertrude came around the corner.

"Oh, there you are," Gertrude said. Tory looked behind his shoulder. "Come here, now," she said. The Persian lowered its head and ears, as if it knew it was in trouble.

"That thing is yours?" asked Tory.

"That thing is my Persian," she corrected. She scratched behind Persian's ears. Persian started to purr loudly.

"Oh, well I will be going now," he said. He started to walk away.

"Well, just to let you know, that freaky girl is mumbling about something. She claims to have seen the future. If you want to watch her, she is two decks above. Quite funny, actually."

Tory nodded and walked away. He didn't mean to go two stories up and watch Melanie like a freak show, but he stumbled upon her. She was in a corner in fetal position, rocking back and forth, mumbling to her self. She appeared more pale than usual, which was probably impossible. When she saw Tory, she jumped up and ran over to him. She grabbed his shirt and looked at him crazy eyed. "We are all going to die!" she screamed. "The ship is going to crash, and we will be stranded on the Seafoam Islands."

"Hey, now. Let's look at this trip with a little more optimism." He tried to get away from her grip, but it was surprisingly strong. "This is your first time on a boat, and I can see where you get these absurd accusations. But we are going to be perfectly fine."

"No!" she screamed. "I have seen it."

"You need to lie down for a while," suggested Tory. He wiggled free from her grip. "I am going back to my suite, you should too."

"You will regret not listening to me!" she shouted, as he quickly walked away from her.


	5. Arrival

The following week was filled with dances, large banquets, and almost everything else you could think of. The last day was a preparation day for big event. Tory mainly stayed in his room for the last day. He was thinking about which Pokemon he should use in the upcoming battle. He had seen almost everybody's Pokemon, but the decision was a tough one, as he did not know who he was going to verse, or if he had to. It was never specified that there would be a battle. Tory sat on his bed, thinking about all the possible challenges: obstacle course, elemental strength competitions, maybe even a beauty show. His concentration was broken when he saw something fall past his window. He jumped from his bed, and pressed his face against the cool window. The thing that fell had already gone underwater. Tory looked up and saw ominous dark clouds looming on the port side of the ship. "I wonder what the weather is calling for." He turned away from the window and surveyed his Pokemon. "Exeggutor, how about you come with me to the deck?" Exeggutor replied joyfully.

Tory opened the door and let his Exeggutor through first. "I won't be long," promised Tory. He closed the door behind him. They reached the deck. When they went outside, a gust of wind almost knocked Tory on his rump. At the front of the ship, he saw Melanie, staring out to sea. On the side of her was a Grumpig. Tory approached her casually. He had tried to convince her that what she saw about them going through a disaster was just a dream due to never being on a ship before, but she stood by her premonition.

As he approached her, her Grumpig turned around and pointed a hoof at him. "Grum," it said.

Melanie turned around and said, "Look," her voice was as if she was in the brink of hysteria. "The clouds, it's going to happen."

"What is?" he asked. Another strong gust blew by, knocking Tory back a few feet. Melanie, amazingly, stayed in one place.

"We are going to crash," she said. "We are going to be stranded and no one will bother to help." In the background, lightning flashed down. In the distance, what appeared to be land was obscured by fog and cloud cover.

"Look," he pointed. "There it is; we are going to be fine." Melanie turned around and squinted at the land. Surprise and misunderstanding was what her face showed. She turned the rest of her body, studying the faint image of the land. The gust blew, getting more frequent with every passing minute. Another flash lit up the stormy sky. And fat drops of rain started to pour. The quickly developing weather made Tory a little uncertain that they would make it. "Let's go," he whispered to Exeggutor. He walked to the control room.

Tory entered and then his Exeggutor. The room was filled with shiny gold knobs and cranks. It maintained the all around regal atmosphere. "Hey, you're not supposed to be here," said a crew member.

Tory looked away from the shiny gold objects. "Oh, I was wondering what the weather report is." A Wingull flew from a desk, with a piece of paper in its claws. It flew over Tory and dropped the paper directly into his hands.

Tory read the paper. It said that it should have been perfectly clear out, like it had been for the past week. There was no explanation for the storm. "Weird," he said to himself.

"Happy?" said the crew member, slightly annoyed.

"Uh, yes. Thank you." Tory opened the door and let Exeggutor out. Once he was out, he was greeted with a downpour. Lightning flashed over head, and the gusting wind blew fiercer.

"Exeggutor," said Tory's Pokemon. It was trying to stay standing.

Tory looked towards the front of the boat. Melanie was still standing there. She looked over her shoulder and muttered the words, "I told you so." Tory looked at her in shock. She was actually right. Tory couldn't believe it.

The ship rocked to one side, as a large wave hit the side of the boat. Tory slipped and started to slide to the edge. His legs were on the other side of the railing when he abruptly stopped. He looked at his rescuer and saw that it was the Grumpig. He didn't really think Exeggutor would have saved him because it didn't even have arms. Grumpig pulled Tory up. "Thanks," he shouted over the rain. Grumpig ran to the door, which was blown ajar. Tory followed and so did Exeggutor. Once inside, Tory grabbed for the handle, but kept missing it. It either flew out of the way, or the rain made his grip slippery. He finally got it closed.

Tory looked around. Melanie had already gotten in. She was wet, and her expression was nothing short of craziness. She curled up into a ball and started mumbling about how they were all going to die. Tory pitied Grumpig. What would he do if his trainer started going insane? The crack of thunder boomed throughout the ship. The lights flickered and then the ship tipped more severely than before. The lights went out, but just for a minute. Once they were back on, an announcement sounded throughout the halls. "Will all passengers please go back to their suites."

Tory looked at Melanie. She didn't appear to hear the announcement. He shrugged and said, "Come on, Exeggutor." He walked down the hall. Tory wasn't really scared. After all, they were just a couple hundred yards away from shore. They would arrive in no time.

They were one level away, when the horrible sound of scraping rock on metal echoed throughout the halls. The lights flickered once again. Several levels below, Tory could hear warning bells going off. Then, a crash that threw Tory and Exeggutor from their feet rocked the boat. The boat seemed to not be moving anymore. The lights were out and the warning bells were off. The only sound was the storm, and if he concentrated hard enough, rushing water. Tory's heart sank. He realized his Pokemon was still in his room. He got up and started running. "Come on!" commanded Tory to his Exeggutor. He looked behind him and saw Exeggutor rolling on the ground. "Use Psychic to get yourself up." Exeggutor floated up. "Now come on!"

They ran down the hall. When they came to his room, Tory tried to open the door but realized it needed his card key. He jammed his hand into his pocket. Nothing. His heart sank again. He had forgotten his card key. "Use Egg Bomb to blast the door open." Tory stepped away from the door and shielded his eyes. A loud explosion later, he was in. Pandemonium had broken loose in his room. All his Pokemon were screaming and running around. The large windows in his room had been shattered and water was flooding in. The ship was no longer level with the sea. It was tilted up.

One by one, Tory recalled his Pokemon back to their Pokeballs even Exeggutor. He turned around and ran to Henry's room. Henry was the closest to his suite. Tory got to his room. The water was up to his knees. He pounded on the door. There was no answer. "Hey," said a voice.

Tory looked around and saw Henry. "Oh, thank goodness. I think we crashed."

"You got that right. At least we are staying above the sea level." Henry looked around. "But not for long. This ship is slowly sinking." He started walking out of the hall. "Let's find the others." Tory followed Henry through the flooded hallways. It was dark and cool. Tory thought he could see his breath a few times.

"Melanie is probably still on the hallway leading up to the deck," Tory finally said.

"Ok, let's find her," Henry said. They turned the corner and ran into a mangled hallway. There was a gigantic hole in the wall, with pieces of metal and wood sticking out through the hall. Henry looked all over the hall they were in.

"Let's find another way," suggested Tory.

"I don't think there is." Henry stopped looking at the hall. "Well, there is, but it is underwater."

Troy saw a flash of movement on the other side of the wreckage. "Hey!" he cried out. The source of the movement appeared. It was Gertrude. He fur coat was wet, and her hair was a mess. She was crying. "Hey, can you help us get to the other side?"

"Look at me!" she snapped. "I am a mess. I am in no condition to help." She started to walk away.

"That's okay, we don't need her help," said Tory. He reached into his belt and pulled out a Pokeball. "Noctowl, clear this path with Psychic." Noctowl was let out and quickly went to work.

When it was finished, Tory returned it to his Pokeball and that last thing to do was to jump across the hole. Henry went first, then Tory. "Come on, let's find Gertrude," said Henry.

That wasn't hard. She was crying so loud, a deaf person could hear her. "Come on, we need to get help," said Henry. He picked her up by the arm and she sulked along.

Melanie had been in the same spot, Tory had left her. She was still muttering. Tory lifted her up. All four of them walked outside. The weather was still just as terrible as before. They walked into the control room. It was empty. "Where is the crew?" asked Henry.

On the other end was a telephone. Henry picked it up and before he could dial, someone appeared on the monitor. "Hey, we have received your distress signal, S.S. Floaty Boat. We are unable to get to you. Therefore, you need to travel to us. The fastest route to us would probably be the underground cave. While you are there, try and find a solid gold and silver Pokeball. A substantial reward will be given. Rescue station out."

The monitor went blank. "It was almost as if they expected us to see that," said Tory. He looked out the window. The entrance of the cave was visible through the lightning and rain.

Melanie screamed. "I told you so! I we have crashed and no one will help us!"


	6. First Day in the Island Part 1

After listening to the message and Melanie's outburst, the group had decided to salvage anything that would be useful from the ship or anything of their own that was not destroyed by water. Tory's room was almost completely submerged so taking any of his possessions was useless. However, Gertrude's suite was barely wet, and it took almost an hour for her to decide, and another hour for her to lug it out of the wrecked cruise liner. By then, the storm had cleared, leaving damp, frigid air. Tory hopped down from the deck onto a slippery rock, and onto another until he was on the Seafoam Islands. A fine mist blew from the ocean onto Tory. He looked up at the others who had not yet gone down. Tory nodded and Gertrude was the next to go down. Gertrude dropped her bags first. Then she tried to be as graceful as Tory was with coming down, but she quickly ended up on her hind quarters. She let out a frustrated sigh, and slid the rest of the way down. Her fur coat was totally damaged by the water and Gertrude's pretentious attitude was now diminished and she exaggerated the helpless pauper image that had befallen her.

When she hit the ground she began to cry. "You've got to be kidding me," Tory said to himself. He grabbed her arm and stood her up right. Melanie was the next to come down. Once she was down, Henry came down. He almost slipped a few times, but ended up getting down without falling. "I guess we go in the cave," said Tory. Henry nodded. They walked up to the cave. Tory was glad to be away from the freezing mist. His clothes were damp and he could see his breath. He thought going in the cave would warm him up. He was wrong. They entered and the temperature dropped at least five degrees. All four of them were shivering. Gertrude whimpered. They continued to walk deeper into the cave. The light that came through the entrance was almost gone. Henry reached for his Pokeball, trying to get some more light in from a Pokemon he had, but he took a wrong step and the ground broke apart and swallowed him whole. "Henry!" screamed Tory. There was a splash. "Henry, are you okay?" There was a red beam of light that shapened into a Pokemon.

"Yah, it seems to be a subterranean lake down here," called back Henry. "Just keep going. I will try to catch up with you."

"Okay," said Tory.

Gertrude looked like she was on the verge of her breaking point. She was trying to hold back screaming, but she didn't do a good job of it. "We are all going to die! With out the professor we stand no chance of survival."

"I told you so," said Melanie.

"Hey, let's not get out of control," said Tory. "We should do what Henry says."

"Oh, let's take advice from some snot brained kid," said Gertrude. "Well I won't." She walked off into the darkness.

Tory and Melanie stared as she left them. When her footsteps were out of earshot Tory turned to Melanie. "And then there were two."

They walked throughout the cave for hours. Tory kind of hoped the exit would be close, but he knew they were not likely to get out tomorrow. Tory had brought out his Magcargo for some light. The little flames shooting out of its shell wasn't enough, but Melanie didn't seem to care. In fact, Melanie didn't seem to care much about anything. After asking a question, Tory turned around when no response came. No one was there. A chill ran up Tory's spin. He turned around and said, "Magcargo, stop." Magcargo stopped and turned its head to see what the problem was. "We lost Melanie." Magcargo didn't seem to care and kept on going. Tory ran over to it and picked it up. "We will look for her," said Tory, slightly annoyed at it.

They searched the cave, calling her name. But no one responded. After twenty minutes, Tory gave up. He turned around and said to Magcargo, "Let's go." He put it back on the ground and Magcargo continued.

Tory didn't like being alone in a cave. He always felt as if someone was watching him. He kept looking over his shoulder to see if any one or thing was. But he couldn't see past the darkness. Time passed and this time, he was certain something was following him when he heard footsteps other than his own. He stopped. They stopped. Magcargo kept going. He started. They started. Magcargo kept going. He stopped. They stopped. Magcargo kept going.

Tory ran up to Magcargo and picked him up. Tory spun around and threw Magcargo. Magcargo wailed as it flew through the air. But when it landed, the faint glow from its shell revealed a cone shaped Pokemon. "Snorunt," it proclaimed. It created an icy wind that seemed to affect Magcargo more than him. It wasn't long until Tory knew what it was doing. "Magcargo, us Rock Throw," said Tory. A few rocks lifted in the air and were hurled towards the Snorunt. Snorunt squealed and flew backwards. It got up again and blew snow at Magcargo. "Magcargo, Body Slam." Magcargo slammed its body into Snorunt, causing it to fly into the darkness, squealing in defeat.

"Good job," said Tory. "Let's get move on before we encounter some more Pokemon. Not that we couldn't handle it, but I want to get out of here as soon as possible." Magcargo agreed. They continued to walk. After about an hour, Tory decided to sit down and take a brake. "Hey, do you think you could intensify your fire and warm me up?" Magcargo obeyed and Tory warmed his hands. "Thanks." He shifted into a comfortable position for sleeping. "Do you think you can take on the night shift?" he asked. Magcargo nodded. "Thanks." Tory rested his head, and Magcargo kept watch for the rest of the time Tory was asleep.


	7. First Day in the Island Part 2

Henry was leading the others through the cave. It was getting to dark to see, so he reached for a Pokeball. The stone beneath his feet crunched and he broke through the cave floor. He fell at least fifty feet into a pool of freezing cold water. His first reaction was to panic, but then he reached for another Pokeball and let out the Mantine inside. He quickly climbed on the Mantine and breathed. He was shivering. He heard someone calling his name. "Are you okay?" the voice cried again.

"Yah, there seems to be a subterranean lake down here," Henry responded. "Just keep going; I will try to catch up with you later."

"Okay."

Henry could here some mumbling from above him. He ignored it, and said," Okay, Mantine, let's see if we can find a shore." Mantine sped off, the air rushing by was making Henry colder along with the thin layer of water gliding over Mantine, making Henry's fingers and knees cold. Henry reached for the Pokeball he was going to grab before he fell through. He released it and out came a Magneton. "Magneton, use flash and get some light in here." The Magneton created a bright flash that lit up the cave for a second and then the Magneton started to glow, trying to keep the cave illuminated.

Henry looked around. There didn't seem to be an end to this lake. "Magneton, can you be brighter?" Magneton responded and strained to get more light in the cave. Mantine kept swimming across the lake. Suddenly, something hit Mantine's underside which threw both Mantine and Henry in the air. Mantine landed upside down in the water and then it flipped over. It tried to seek out the attacker. Henry could only tread water and watch.

A Seel jumped out of the water and dived back in. Mantine went to pursue the Seel. Henry could feel vibrations in the water, as the two battled. Mantine burst out of the water and seemed to float in the air for a moment before diving back in. Moments later, the Seel flew out of the water. Magneton tried to hit it with a Thunder attack but missed and hit the lake instead.

Henry felt a jolt of electricity run through his body before blacking out. The last thing he saw was his Mantine, lying upside down in the water, it too had be knocked out be the attack.


	8. First Day in the Island Part 3

Gertrude stomped through the darkness. She continually ran into walls and tripped over rocks, grunting every time she fell. She tore at least three holes into her fur coat, and cut her self multiple times. She was extremely cold and her wet coat did nothing to keep her warm. The only thing that kept her going in the darkness was determination. Determination, to find the gold and silver Pokeball and to find the exit.

Gertrude tripped over a rock. She grunted again and got up, hearing several stitches tear in her coat. She picked up the rock she tripped over. It was smooth, and Gertrude wasn't certain it was a rock because her fingers found a groove that touched a warm fleshy part inside. She didn't think anything of it and hurled it behind her. "Shellder!" it shrieked in a high pitch voice as it landed on the cave floor. The echoes in the cave distorted the word.

"What was that?" she asked. She turned around and continued on her way. She didn't rely on her Pokemon to give her light or guide her around with their night vision, because none of them could. She bumped her shoulder into a rock that jutted out from the wall and the smacked her face into a cold iron ladder.

Gertrude smiled and felt somewhat accomplished. She grabbed the freezing bars and started to climb up. She hit her head on the ceiling and fell down to the ground. She got up and rubbed her head. "I guess it leads down," she said, spitefully. She grabbed the metal bars again and climbed down. As she climbed down, she felt something brush past her ear. She looked around, but knew that she couldn't even see her hand if she put it directly in front of her face.

When Gertrude thought she was far enough down, she jumped off the ladder and heard something crack. One foot was not level with another and she knew she had broken the heal of her shoe. She roared with raging fury. She took off both shoes and threw them into the darkness. When she calmed down, she sighed as she realized she could probably never find them. Gertrude embarked on her journey again, feeling every pebble and jagged stone that cut into her feet.

Gertrude felt another thing brush past her ear. She stopped and waited. It came by her again, this time landing on her coat. She could only guess what it was. Another came and landed on her. Then another, and another, and another. "Zubat," one moaned. She knew what a Zubat was and she hated them. One by one, they accumulated on her. Her bottom lip was trembling out of control. A tear came to one eye, and she let out an ear piercing scream that seemed to cut through the cave's walls like a heated knife through butter. She flung her arms in the air and ran away, letting the Zubat swarm after her in an angry mob.

Gertrude ran into a wall and staggered backwards. She felt the wall like a mad man looking for it to end. The screeching of the swarming Zubat was close behind her. She found the break in the wall and ran, bumping into the turns of the cave. After running around one corner, she saw what looked like three Magnetites grouped together. A dimly glowing lit emanated from them. She squinted at them, still running. The Magnetites let out an electric shock. An entire lake was revealed by the electricity. She tried to stop but ended up slipping into it. There was another bright flash, but it didn't come from the direction of the Magnetites, it came from the direction she had just come through. She was losing consciousness when a hand grabbed her and pulled her out of the water.


	9. Stuck in the Pit of Shellder

Tory was thrown from his sleep by an ear piercing scream. He sat up, eyes wide open. Tory noticed that his nose was extremely cold from the cave and clasped his hands around it. It didn't work. He looked around and saw the soft glow of his Magcargo. "Hey, bud," he said. "You can have some rest now. I'll get one of my night-seeing Pokemon." He reached for a Pokeball and Magcargo was sucked into it. Tory was shrouded in darkness. He reached for a Pokeball and held it out. A beam came from it and revealed his Noctowl. "Hey, can you guide me through here? Try to find a ladder or something." Noctowl nodded in the dark and tugged on Tory's shirt in the direction it wanted Tory to go.

"Noct," it said.

"What?" Tory felt a dull pain in his head and he realized he had walked into a low overhang. "Ow," he said rubbing his head. He saw stars in the darkness. He went to sit down and Noctowl jumped off his shoulder. "You have to give me more of a notice," he said.

"Noct. Noctowl," he said, stretching its wing under the low ceiling. Tory got on his hands and knees and crawled under the low hanging rock. "Noct," it said again.

"Huh?" Tory ran his head into a cold iron ladder. "Ow," he said. He sat back and rubbed his head again. When he was done, he felt the bottom of the ladder to see if it went down. It didn't. Noctowl jumped on Tory's shoulder and Tory began to climb it. He climbed until he hit his head on the rocky ceiling. He jumped off and rubbed his head again. "Which way?" he asked. Noctowl gave a soft hoot and nudged him in the direction. In the background, he could hear little mumbles. "Noctowl, find where the mumbles are coming from," said Tory. If the mumbles were from people, then he could get out of the cave faster. Noctowl changed the direction of the nudges.

The soft mumbles soon became louder. He turned the corner and could hear them loud and clear. The voices didn't come from people, but Pokemon. "Slow, slow, slow, slow, slow, POKE!" There was a flurry of noise. When the flurry of noise ended, a Slowpoke began, "Slow, slow, slow, slow, POKE!" Another flurry of noise.

Tory was watched through the darkness, making out faint outlines of the Slowpoke. He couldn't believe that the Slowpoke were playing Duck, Duck, Goose. He backed away slowly. "Noctowl, find a way out of here." The Noctowl began to tug and lead the way out. The Slowpoke could still be heard. "That was just weird," Tory said.

Tory was far enough away to not hear the Slowpoke anymore. He noticed a slight decline in the ground. Suddenly, the increased in the angle and Tory slipped. He slid to the bottom and bumped into rocks, or what he thought were rocks. "Shellder!" said one of them. Then another screamed, and another and another, until they broke out into a frenzy. They were clamping at Tory's feet and legs.

"Ow," he said. He tried to walk back up the way he came but slid back down. They clamped harder on Tory's legs and feet. "Noctowl, do something!" he screamed. Noctowl left his shoulder. Squeals of pain echoed throughout the cave. After two Shellder let go of his feet, Tory made his way across the frenzy to the other side, where he might be able to escape. Tory figured he was about half way through there until a blue beam lit up the cave and revealed, that he was in a pit. The beam missed him by inches and he could hear a piece of rock being frozen. Tory gulped.

"Cloyster," said a Cloyster. There was another blue beam and Noctowl screeched. A chunk of ice hit the cave floor. Tory knew what happened and his first reaction was to whip out another Pokeball. Tory didn't know what he pulled out, so it came as a slight surprise when he saw the shape of his Exeggutor come out. "Exeggutor, Egg Bomb these Shellder, and try to avoid the Cloyster's Ice Beam." Exeggutor growled which stirred up the Shellder more. One Shellder clamped onto Tory's leg so hard, that the snap of his shin could be heard over the din. Tory collapsed and gasped for breath.

A bright flash followed by an explosion, shook the cave and threw about twenty Shellder into the air. The sight was almost humorous if it hadn't been for Tory's broken leg. Another explosion and more Shellder were thrown into the air. A blue beam streaked across the pit, but another explosion assured Tory that his Exeggutor was not hit. A faint green light started to glow around all the Shellder. The screaming quieted. The only threat that was left was the Cloyster. Another blue beam streaked across the pit. A black blur flew over Tory and crashed into the rock. "Cloyster," it moaned. The black blur flew over head again. "Cloyster," it moaned weaker. Tory didn't get to see the rest of the battle because he blacked out.


	10. The Trophey

Henry slowly came to. He was face first in the sandy subterranean beach. The professor lifted his head and looked around. A faint light made everything visible. It revealed his beached Mantine, and a magnet arm of his Magneton sticking out of the sand.. He assumed the rest of it was buried in the sand. He saw the source of the faint light, a crackling fire. To his surprise, Gertrude was on the other side of the fire, shivering uncontrollably. Her eyes met his and she mouthed some words that he couldn't make out. He sat up to focus better on her. From a dark shadow a man ran out, flailing his arms and screaming. This scared Henry so much he jumped up and ran over his Mantine to get away, but Henry was stopped by a Seel. Probably the same one that attacked him in the ocean, he didn't know.

Henry turned around and said, "Who are you?" The Seel jabbed Henry in the butt with its horn. Henry ignored it. But the man in tattered clothes just grunted and waved his hands. "What?" said Henry. The man did the same thing again, but ended in punching Henry in the face. Gertrude screamed. Henry fell to the ground. He grabbed his Pokeball and stood up. He threw the Pokeball at the man's head. It bounced off and opened up, and sucked Mantine into it.

The man rubbed his head and tried to punch Henry again, but Henry was faster and grabbed the man's arm. The Seel jabbed Henry with its horn again, and Henry let go of the man's arm. "I have no time for this," Henry said. He walked past the man and picked up Mantine's Pokeball. As he walked towards the fire, he grabbed another empty Pokeball and returned his Magneton into it. Henry stopped by the fire and rubbed his hands together, warming them up. When he was done, he walked over to Gertrude and offered his hand to help her up. Once she was up, Henry turned to the man and said, "Well, I appreciate you saving me, but we must be going now."

The man roared, and pointed at them. The man's Seel and a Slowbro walked in front of him. "He wants to battle?" said Henry.

"No, I think he doesn't want us to leave," said Gertrude.

"Oh, we're leaving," insisted Henry. He reached for a Pokeball. So did Gertrude. They threw theirs at the same time. She sent out her Persian. It flexed its claws and yawned. Henry sent out his Hitmonlee. "Hitmonlee, use Mega kick on the Seel."

"Persian, use Body Slam on the Slowbro," commanded Gertrude. Hitmonlee went to kick Seel, but was thrown into the rock wall without being touched by Slowbro. Persian slammed into Slowbro a second too late if it wanted to save Hitmonlee, but it did damage to Slowbro nonetheless. Seel used Aurora Beam on Persian, but Persian jumped out of its way. "Persian, use Scratch on Seel." Seel cried out as Persian sank its claws into Seel.

"Hitmonlee, get up and use double kick on Slowbro." Hitmonlee jumped up and ran over to Slowbro. Just before it got to it, it spun around, kicking it once, and then twice. Slowbro was thrown on top of the fire, almost putting it out. "Now finish it off with Mega Kick." Hitmonlee's leg glowed white and then delivered the final blow to the Slowbro.

"Persian, Faint attack!" Persian but it was too late, Seel had hit it with an Aurora Beam. Persian flew into the rock wall.

"Hitmonlee, Mega Kick." Hitmonlee's foot again glowed white and it kicked Seel with tremendous force. The Seel flew into the air and landed underwater. The man growled. Gertrude and Henry returned their Pokemon and walked past the man. "Well, bye. Hope to see more of you later," said Henry to the man, teasingly. Henry picked up a flaming stick and used it as a torch to guide them through the cave.

When they were far enough away from the man, Henry looked down. "My goodness, your feet are all bloody. What happened?"

"I lost my shoes," said Gertrude, embarrassed. They continued to walk through the cave. Eventually the fire on the stick went out. Gertrude sighed.

"Will you look at that," said Henry, looking at the glowing embers. "Well, I knew it couldn't last. Where did that guy find wood in here anyway?" He tossed the stick aside. The sound of wood hitting metal echoed throughout the cave.

Henry and Gertrude looked at each other and got on their knees, suddenly becoming enemies once more. Gertrude pushed Henry out of the way. She searched the floor with her hands. Henry pushed with more force and Gertrude grunted. "Ah ha!" he said. He stood up, holding the gold and silver Pokeball. Only did he know it was gold and silver until a red flash lit up a small portion of the cave.

"Ninetails," she said evilly, "burn him to a crisp." Ninetails opened its mouth and let lose a beautiful stream of fire that raced towards Henry. Henry ran the other direction, shocked that anybody would stoop to this low. "Get him!" cried out Gertrude. Henry ran faster. Another round of fire singed Henry's lab coat. He looked at the Pokeball; the way the fire reflected off of it was spectacular. Henry turned around and Ninetails stopped in front of him. Henry looked at it with evil in his eye and kicked the Pokemon. It yelped and sulked off.

Henry continued to walk, eventually ending up the same place he left. The fire was still going, but the man and his Pokemon were nowhere to be seen. Henry sat on a cold boulder and marveled at the Pokeball and how the fire reflected off of it. Henry looked at it closer and saw that it was engraved. It said: "Congratulations! You have won the Fuchsia City Contest!" Henry finally understood that this whole thing was a set up.


	11. Masquerain

Tory came out of his unconsciousness by a dimly glowing light that was suspended in the air by a pendulum. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked at the gnome-like face with a long crooked nose staring at him. He jumped to his feet, startled by the scary face. He looked behind it and saw a pale, ghost like face. "Melanie?" Tory said. Tory realized that he was standing. It shocked him that he was because a Shellder snapped his leg before. He assumed Melanie healed it with one of her Pokemon.

"That is correct," she said. "My Hypno found you lying here, unconscious. So, I healed you with my Alakazam."

"Thanks," said Tory. "Did you find that Pokeball we were supposed to find?"

"No, but I have a feeling that it has already been found." She walked past Tory. "Come on, we need to get out of here before the Shellder come back."

"Wait, what about my Noctowl?" Tory looked around and didn't see his Exeggutor either. "And where is my Exeggutor?" He felt around the dimly lit pit and touched something cold. He waved for Hypno to come and light up the piece of ice. Tory saw his Noctowl in it, with its wings spread apart. Tory reached for a Pokeball and released Magcargo. "Magcargo, I need you to melt the ice." Magcargo blasted the ice with fire. Magcargo reduced the size of the ice by over half. Inside, Noctowl was twitching, trying to break the ice by itself. "That's good enough, Magcargo." Tory returned Magcargo to its Pokeball. The ice shattered and Noctowl fell to the ground in exhaustion. "I am proud of you, Noctowl." And he returned it to the Pokeball.

Tory turned around and asked, "Has anybody seen Exeggutor?" Tory began to search the pit.

"What does he look like?" asked Melanie.

"Like every other Exeggutor ever made," said Tory, sarcastically. Melanie flung up her hands and made a face. She started to look for Exeggutor too. They called his name over and over, but to no avail.

After a few minutes of searching, Melanie said that she found something. Tory ran over to her and saw that she had found Exeggutor, lying on its back. "Its must be really worn out from battling that Cloyster," he said. He reached for a Pokeball and Exeggutor disappeared into it. "Okay, I am ready to go." They climbed out of the pit and walked through the cave.

As they walked, the sound of rushing water was becoming louder and louder. They turned a corner and, at last, they found the source of the sound. A wide river was flowing through the cave at an extremely fast speed. Tory reached for a Pokeball and threw it onto the ground. His Surskit came out. "You think you can cross that river?" Surskit nodded.

Surskit jumped into the river and was quickly carried by the river. "Surskit!" Tory shouted, but Surskit quickly recovered and was gliding easily across the river. It was about half way across the river when the water bubbled and a Gyarados shot out from the water.

"Ah! Surskit, get out of there." But Surskit didn't appear to have heard Tory. The Gyarados dived for Surskit, but Surskit mover out of its way just in time. When Gyarados came up from the water, Surskit used Bubblebeam, but it didn't seem to affect Gyarados. Gyarados made a dive for Surskit again, and again Surskit glided out of its way. Surskit used Bubblebeam again, and got the Gyarados in the eyes. It roared and used Dragon breath. Surskit was hit, but Surskit was strong and continued to fight. Gyarados dived for Surskit again, and this time got it. It was trapped in Gyarados's mouth. "Surskit!" cried Tory.

The Gyarados glared at Tory and Melanie. Melanie remained calm. Tory went to reach for another Pokeball to save Surskit, but Melanie stopped him. "Look," she said, pointing at Gyarados. The Gyarados was gagging. It looked as if it was about to throw up. Tory watched it. The Gyarados opened its mouth and something flew out, but it was not Surskit. It seemed to be able to fly. "You're Surskit evolved into a Masquerain!" said Melanie. Tory looked at it in surprise.

Masquerain created a whirlwind that spun Gyarados around and around. Gyarados eventually got so dizzy, it fainted. It fell back underwater and created a huge splash that soaked Melanie and Tory. Masquerain flew back at Tory and he said, "Good job, I am so proud of you. But how are we going to get across the river now? You aren't strong enough to lift me in the air."

"Wait a minute," said Melanie. "The river obviously leads to somewhere. It may lead to the lake Henry dropped into." Before Tory could say something, she jumped in and was quickly taken away by the river. Tory, realizing he had no other choice but to jump in, and did so. And he, too, was quickly taken by the current.


	12. The Fight for the Trophey

Tory and Melanie were being tossed around by the river. Masquerain fluttered above the water, on the look out for any more rampaging Gyarados. The water was ice cold, and the current threw both of them into rock, protruding out of the river. It was like they were thrown into a giant washing machine. The river eventually slowed when it emptied out into the lake. Tory and Melanie tread water, and waited for the excitement of their hearts to go down. "That was awesome," said Tory. "Who's up for round two?"

Melanie stared at him. "Look," she said. "A fire." Tory looked around and saw a light flickering a long distance away. It looked like a man sat around it, looking at something shiny.

Tory started to swim toward the fire. After swimming ten meters, he said, "This is ridiculous." He pulled out a Pokeball and released it in the air. His Noctowl flew out and circled above Tory. "Fly me over to the fire," said Tory. His Noctowl complied and lifted him out of the water. As he flew through the air, Tory shivered because of the cold air blowing against his wet body.

Noctowl let him down and flew onto Tory's shoulder. It was Henry who sat near the fire. Henry looked up and hid the gold and silver Pokeball behind his back. "What do you want?" he said savagely. "You want to take this, don't you? Don't you!"

"Take what? What do you have?" Tory craned his neck to see what he was hiding behind his back.

"Don't play stupid. You want the trophy," said Henry. He pulled it from behind his back and let it reflect the fire.

Tory read the writing on it. He looked at Henry. "That's right," said Henry. "They did it to us on purpose. This whole thing is the last challenge. The first one to the end with the trophy wins." Henry turned around and ran down a dark passage. But he fell on his back when he collided into an invisible wall.

In the corner of Tory's eye, Melanie appeared along side her was her Alakazam. Henry stood up again and pointed at her. "And you, you knew. You didn't predict the future, you must have sneaked into the Captain's room and saw the papers that planned this whole thing out." He narrowed his eyes. "You're as fake of a psychic as any of us."

"You can decide that for yourself," Melanie said. She out stretched her hand and the Pokeball lifted out of Henry's and glided toward hers. Tory looked at her, while Henry was petrified by shock. Noctowl, stared at the Alakazam and lifted off into the air, and slammed a glowing wing into the back of Alakazam's head. It fell to the ground along with the trophy. Henry regained himself and dived for the trophy.

Melanie's Alakazam got up and attack Noctowl with a Psychic attack. It was shoved into the fire, where it instantly lit up. Noctowl hopped out, screeching in pain. The screech was so sharp, it made Alakazam fall to the ground, holding its ears and Melanie and Henry stopped fighting, staring at the bird being cooked alive. The flames slowly went out by its self, leaving just the smoldering Noctowl. Noctowl flew into the air again and used Iron Wing against the Alakazam that had not realized the screeching stopped. Alakazam flopped over when it was hit again, and struggled to get up. It fell to the ground after one last feeble attempt to get up. Noctowl fell to the ground, in desperate need for rest.

Melanie ran over to her Alakazam and held it up. Henry took this opportunity to escape. "Get him," cried Tory. And his Masquerain zoomed past his shoulder and chased after Henry. Tory pulled out a Pokeball and returned Noctowl. "After all this fighting, I am surprised that Noctowl isn't dead," said Tory to him self. Tory ran down the same passage that Henry took.

It wasn't long until Tory had reached, and tackled, Henry. They fought over the trophy on the dark ground. Tory could hear the flapping of Masquerain's above him. "Masquerain, use Swift." But the stars that were expected to be shot at Henry never came. "Masquerain?" Tory looked over his shoulder and it was not there. He stopped fighting and Henry made his getaway. Tory threw a Pokeball the way someone would try to catch a Pokemon. It opened and found Masquerain on the ground, exhausted.

Tory picked up the Pokeball and walked back to the fire. Melanie was long gone, teleported, he presumed, to the exit. He looked over the lake and at the dark ceiling. If there was only a way to get up and through the hole that was made by Henry, and then fly over the island and beat Henry to the exit, where he would snatch the Pokeball and be declared the winner. But his Noctowl was completely worn out, and he would not dare do anything with it, for fear of killing it and none of his other Pokemon could get him up there. He looked at the dark passage way Henry took to leave. Tory realized it was the only way and took it.


	13. Almost There

Tory felt naturally tired and thought it must have been night time outside. He stumbled over a rock and fell. The air was noticeably warmer where he was but the ground was cold. "This is odd," he said to himself. He got up and rounded a corner. He had walked into another warmer spot. A couple hundred meters away, flashes of light were reflecting off the wall. Tory broke out into a run to see if it was anybody. He rounded another corner, and saw Gertrude and her Ninetails burning everything in sight. A group of native Pokemon was running away as Gertrude pointed at them and her Ninetails blasted a ball of fire at them. Tory took a moment to savor the hot air around him, before he spoke up.

Gertrude turned and was about to point at him to be set on fire, but she lowered her hand. She looked ten times worse than he Tory had last seen her. She didn't have any shoes on, and what remained of her fur coat were scraps of cloth resting on her shoulders. Gertrude glared at him. "Where are you headed?" he asked.

"I am trying to find that weasel we call Henry," she spat. She turned around and pointed at a rock. Ninetails blasted fire at it.

"Well, he is headed towards the exit. We should too," he suggested.

Gertrude turned around and stared at him. "We don't know where the exit is," she said.

"Yes, but it isn't this way. I've been down here before," said Tory. It did seem pretty familiar to him. Gertrude ignored him and continued to walk, pointing at everything that moved. Tory followed in silence only to keep warm. If he strained his ears, he could hear faint chanting over the noise of the fire. "Wait a minute," he whispered, "I know that noise." Gertrude had turned the corner and Tory ran just in time to see the Slowpoke, who were playing Slow, Slow, Poke, run away from the fire in fright. "What are you doing?!" he cried. "You can't just go around setting things on fire, especially the Pokemon!"

"Watch me," she snarled. Tory grabbed her wrist and directed her through the cave. She put up a fight for a good few minutes, and even threatened to set him a blaze, but she eventually grew tired and gave up. After about a long hour of dragging Gertrude around, he thought he was actually making progress.

"Are we there yet?" asked Gertrude.

"No."

"Now?"

"No."

"Now?"

"No!! Will you stop asking? Don't you have eyes? Can't you see if there is the exit or not?" Gertrude became too quiet for Tory after that. They continued to search the cave for the exit. Gertrude's Ninetails, which was obediently by Gertrude's side, stopped to sniff the ground, and growled.

Gertrude wriggled free from Tory's grip. "What is it?" she said. Ninetails pawed at something hovering slightly above the ground. Gertrude picked it up. "Oh, it's only string," she said with a slight laugh with hints of insanity hidden in it. Suddenly, the ceiling came down in gigantic boulders. Tory dove out of the way and pulled Gertrude with him. Smaller boulders bounced past their heads. When the boulders stopped falling, Tory and Gertrude got up.

"It was a trap," stated Tory.

"It must have been set up by the native," said Gertrude. "He's been trying to ruin everything."

"Well come on, let's try and dig our way out of here. I thought I saw some light at the end of the tunnel." Tory started to throw rocks he could lift pass his head.

Gertrude snorted. "This is not a job for me, it is for Pokemon." She threw a Pokeball in front of her and her Persian appeared. It immediately started digging with its front paws. It was joined by Gertrude's Ninetails.

Tory climbed the pile of rocked and threw a loose stone down. He peered through the hole and saw a light. "Hey, I _did_ see the end. Come on; dig, so we get out of here faster."


	14. The End

Tory hopped back down from the top of the rocky barricade and started to help dig. Gertrude had found something new to complain about: hunger. Come to think of it, Tory was feeling mighty hungry too. But still, he kept moving rocks. Gertrude remained on the side, not helping as always. Even her Pokemon were slacking. "It would go a lot quicker if you would help," Tory pointed out.

Gertrude laughed. "Don't you want to train to move a mountain?"

Tory thought about it. The ability to "move a mountain" had never come across his mind.

"One who moves a mountain, starts by moving tiny stones," said Gertrude. She laughed and adjusted herself in her spot.

Tory dropped the rock and turned around. "You know, that may be the smartest thing you ever said." He went back to work.

Gertrude laughed again. He knew she was slowly losing her mind and left it at that. Her help wasn't something to value, he thought. After strenuous hours of continuing to move the stones, he could finally weasel through a hole at the top of the rock slide. When Gertrude noticed the hole, she, as predicted by Tory, pushed him out of the way and tried to go through first. But her adult body, although not fat, could not fit through the hole. She growled in frustration. "Make this hole bigger," she demanded.

Tory climbed up and went through. He peeked his head through the hole and said, "No." Gertrude stared at him with a mixture of terror and anger and then screamed. "One down, three to go," he said to himself. He slid down the pile of rocks and skipped merrily towards the exit. Along the way, he pulled out his Araidos. When he came to the edge of the cave, he looked out towards the ocean. It was night time, and he couldn't see any sign of civilized objects, like boats or lights. He turned around and waited. It wasn't long until he saw his second victim. That victim was Henry. He was having trouble seeing. "Araidos, Spider Web."

"Huh? Oh!" said Henry. He was stuck to the wall, pinned to it by Araidos' spider web.

Tory went to snatch the trophy from him, but found that both of his hands were empty. Tory searched the ground with his hands. "You won't find it," said Henry. "Melanie took it from me. Teleported right in front of me, then some flying freak took it out of my hands, then teleported away.

Tory expected she teleported back out. He looked back out onto the ocean. Still, nothing was there. "I think she is still in the cave. She just wanted to teleport to someplace safe," said Henry. "No sense in teleporting back to the city. You wouldn't get recognition," added Henry.

Tory waited for Melanie to make her appearance. He didn't let Henry out of the spider web, and he could hear Gertrude sobbing down the tunnel. Tory watched the tunnel Henry came form, seeing that it would be unlikely Melanie would come from the one he came from. The sun was starting to rise, which made him anxious. He thought that there was another exit, and went outside to check the sloping mountain. There wasn't another one, so he went back inside. By now the bottom of the sun had risen above the horizon. The warm light infused the cave.

Then Melanie rounded the corner of the tunnel Henry had come from. She noticed Tory and stopped. She had the trophy in hand and a Murkrow on her shoulder. It was a reflex that Araidos went to use spider web on her. But her Murkrow was faster and tackled it. "Murkrow, Shadow Ball," commanded Melanie.

The Shadow Ball hit Araidos and sent it flying into a wall. Melanie and Murkrow ran for the exit. "Araidos, Poison Sting." Araidos jumped on Melanie's back and bite Murkrow. Melanie fell over, and Murkrow tumbled down the side of the mountain. Tory walked over to Melanie and grabbed the trophy.

"Araidos use Spider Web on this ball and I will stick it to your back. Then we run for it." Araidos obeyed and Tory stuck it on Araidos' back. Then they ran. They ran down the mountain and saw a port at the end of the island, where many people were waiting. When they saw Tory they started cheering.

Tory looked over his shoulder and saw an Electrode rolling at an insane speed towards him. It hit Tory and he flew further down the mountain. Painful "Oh's" came from the crowd. Tory looked up, he stopped rolling next to Melanie's Murkrow. He watched his Araidos and Electrode battle. Electrode used Thunderbolt, and Araidos countered with Night Shade. Electrode made a constipated face and blew up.

The trophy was striped of the spider web and flew off Araidos' back. It glittered in the sunlight. Beyond Araidos, Henry was running, with Melanie behind him. Tory got up and ran to catch the trophy. Henry and Tory were running side by side, arms outstretched, waiting for the trophy to fall in their hands. Both of them grabbed it at the same time and it turned into a game of tug-o-war. Melanie went to nurse her Murkrow.

All through the chase, the crowd was cheering on who ever they wanted to win. Tory thought he heard his mother scream for him and he turned to look at the crowd out of instinct. Henry ripped the trophy out of Tory's grip and started running to the port. The crowd erupted into a louder cheer. Tory followed him, trying to catch up and tackle him. Out of nowhere, his Araidos ran past Tory and tackled Henry. The trophy flew out of Henry's hands and landed less than an inch away from the finish line. Tory jumped over Araidos and Henry and ran to the trophy.

Then, Melanie teleported between the Tory and the trophy and picked it up. She mockingly took a moment to admire it, before crossing the finish line. Tory's mouth hung open. He was shocked.

After that, each contestant was taken aboard a separate boat and was given food, drink, rest, and healed Pokemon. Tory sat on the bed, in the cabin. The boat had only one cabin. It wasn't a luxury liner like the S.S. Floaty Boat. Just a cheap boat used for recreational fishing. He stared into his cup of hot chocolate.

The roar of the motor stopped and he was alerted that they had arrived back in Fuchsia City. He got up and went out. There, a crowd was cheering for him, and he could see his mother and sister waiting for him. His sister still looked angry about the whole Tory in the final four thing.

When he took his first step back on civilized land, His mother tackled him and held him in a hug. She patted him on the shoulder, and gave him some words of encouragement and took him home. He didn't want to stick around for the final ceremony; he just wanted to be home.


End file.
